That Face
by Rae TB
Summary: Tala remembers a lost love, and the face he'll never forget...Shounen ai. TalaBrooklyn, mentions of GarlandBrooklyn, GarlandBryan, and Garland being mean.


Alright, so I had a great idea involving a Brooklyn fic involving a semi unusual couple that I have yet to see in fic form; TalaBrooklyn.

I know, I know. Some of you are probably wondering what I was thinking, and some of you are probably too hooked on KaiTala to consider this...but here's how I see it: after Tala got beaten by Garland he probably wanted revenge, and what better way to do it than through Brooklyn? Tala is pretty serious, uptight, vengeful, and haunted. Brooklyn is carefree, kind, and gentle. Brooklyn could probably warm Tala's heart, and help him get over his past. Both know what it's like to be used by Boris, and both know what it's like to be alone. And if they get with each other, they'd never have to be alone again...

But that's just how I see it...feel free to ignore me. Even if you think this pairing sounds stupid, give the fic a try. If you still think it's a stupid pairing, so be it. I won't try to change your mind. But if you do like it, you must tell me I am a genius XP...or not. Never mind, just don't listen to me!

* * *

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

That look of shock, that look of hurt when Garland had told you what was going on.

You were _crushed_.

You had loved me.

And I had loved you.

But it was better this way...

What I had done to you was inexcusable; I had used you for my own selfish purposes. I had taken your innocence, your purity and molded it into something dark for my own gain. I had soiled the light within you, and let your dark loose. I was so blinded by hate at the time that I couldn't see past the red haze of rage. Rage at you for beating Kai. Rage at Garland for humiliating my team and hospitalizing me. Rage at the _world_.

When I had heard that Garland had broken up with you, it was all too ideal. I swooped in to your rescue, gave you a place to stay, comforted you, and listened to everything you told me. Garland had been steaming with jealousy, regretting ever losing you.

And now I know why.

Neither of us truly deserved you. We both played with your heart, me even more so than Garland. I had given you hope by pretending to love you, and then I had stripped it away. At first, everything had gone flawlessly; Garland was envious, and you were fooled. But ever so slowly, the ball of yarn began to unravel into nothingness. I remember the day I had found you on your own, alone in the park. Your teal eyes were glazed over with tears, your hands clenching the park bench as rays of light hit your orange hair at just the right angle, making it appear to let off a glow.

You looked like an angel.

Your shoulders were slumped in a defeated way as a small wind blew, tousling your hair and caressing your face. You were vulnerable, and I knew it. It was the perfect opportunity to begin my plan. Initially, everything had gone flawlessly; I walked over to you calmly, and kindheartedly asked you what was wrong. And that's when you first gazed at me with those wide saddened eyes, the look on your face one of turmoil.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

"You look a little lost," I commented as you slumped your shoulders in a beaten manner.

"Why do you care?" you whispered. Truth was, at the time, I didn't care but to keep my charade from being ruined, I had to pretend to.

"Just an observation," I shrugged off-handedly as you wiped at your eyes, presumably because you didn't want to appear weak in front of me.

"Go observe elsewhere," you had croaked as I smirked lightly, sitting down beside you, watching as you inched away.

You were beautiful.

Even back then it couldn't be denied. I fought my hormones with all my might trying to remind myself you were off limits to me. But matters of the heart are never easily suppressed, "Naww, I think I like the view from right here," I commented flirtatiously, looking you over. You were obviously surprised. We were supposed to be bitter enemies, and here I was, checking you out. Shock spread across your features as you looked at me as though I was insane.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

I soon buried myself deep within my thoughts, my eyes glued to your attractive form. Shaking my head to snap myself out of my reverie I attempted to continue without pouncing on you and claiming those lips as my own in a passionate interlocking, "So...why don't you tell me what's on your mind?...Or do I have to find a different way to get the truth out of you?" I had purred, stretching out while lazily wrapping an arm around your shoulders. The warmth you radiated was enough to seep through my clothes and into my skin, affecting every strand of my being. I could feel it flooding through my body as my breath caught in my throat. No one had ever affected me quite like this before.

"It doesn't matter anyway..." you had sniffed. "I don't matter," you whispered, your words coming out garroted.

"Now...that's no way to talk about yourself," I chided tilting your chin up.

If my heart had been beating before, it stopped at that second.

I found myself losing all control over my mouth as words seemed to slip out without my knowledge, "You...you're...you're gorgeous..." I breathed honestly as your eyes widened, a light blush painting your cheeks, somehow making your face appear even more striking.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

"You're just saying that..." you muttered.

"I wouldn't lie to you..." I smiled tenderly, stroking your cheek. That in itself was a lie; I had done nothing but lie to you so far...well...except when I called you gorgeous. That was the truth. You flinched beneath my touch and pulled away, looking at me angrily.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

"Don't play with my heart Tala. It's been toyed with enough today," you had stated with such hurt that I could feel an unparalleled wrath flow through me. Whatever Garland had done to make you like this would be done back to him in spades. I would make sure of that. Even back then, I cared for you for reasons beyond my knowledge. I continued to deny it though. I couldn't bring myself to believe that I felt for someone who was friends with that...thing. Then again, I was no better than he was...I _am_ no better than he is. Neither of us truly deserve you...

"What happened?" I questioned softly as you sighed, eyes shutting. I already knew what was wrong, of course. I had kept close tabs on Garland, simply waiting...In other words; I stalked him as did Bryan on my request.

"My boyfriend...he...he..." you croaked helplessly.

"You mean Garland?..." I inquired as you flinched but grit your teeth, nodding.

"He broke up with me..." you sighed as I watched you sympathetically. "He kicked me out, and now I have no where to go..."

"Yes you do," I smiled. "You can stay with me," I assured another look of surprise passing over you but then, you smiled. It was the first one that you had given around me, just for me.

It was beautiful.

It had begun as nothing more than twitching of the corners of your mouth before spreading out until your entire face lit up. It was a thousand times brighter than any spectacle of light could _ever_ be. It was life. It was hope...it was _alluring_. The sight was a welcome one. The core of your emotion had now passed to give through to something dazzling, like a rainbow after a storm.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

"I'd like that," you breathed.

And then I felt rapture like no other.

Nothing but pure, unbridled, rapture.

My invitation was only one of many surprises I had in store for you. You had been withdrawn at first, unsure of whether you could rely on me or not. Overtime, you began to trust me, began to love me even, and I found that the same could be said for my feelings with you. You drew me in with that face of yours and soon my anger was melting under the kindness of your heart. You taught me how to appreciate things, you opened up, and in return I did the same. For me, it was gradual, like the budding of a flower as I slowly allowed you in. For you, it had been much quicker. You had been so naive, and I had taken advantage of that. I had taken advantage of _you_.

It was the worst crime a lowly demon such as me could have committed against such a divine deity as you. I would pay however, I would pay with the thing dearest to me; your love. And the one that would make sure I suffered was the person that I had been trying to hurt in the first place. When he had first found out we were together he had been incredibly spiteful. He had lost his chances with you, but despite that he showed up everyday making any excuse he could to see your face.

You obviously grew annoyed at his presence and I took a certain amount of pride from that. I pretended seeing you two together didn't bother me, but it _did_. In the beginning, I thought nothing of my reaction to those visits. I brushed it aside as anger at seeing the one that hospitalized me once more. But over time there became no denying it; I was angry because he was around _you_. I was angry because he was talking to _you_. I was angry because the arm he was touching belonged to _you_. And I was angry because I wanted _you_.

Soon enough, I would get what I wanted.

Only to lose it... forever.

I remember the day we got together quite clearly...and the day you left me even clearer.

The day we had become a couple had been a rainy, stormy, gloomy one, and when we broke up it had been sunny and carefree. I suppose it was nature's way of mocking me with the intense irony of it all...The happiest day of my life had been when the weather was its worse, and the day you left – the worst day of my life, had been storm free. Another thing I found ironic about both days, is the mood you had started in. The morning before you became my boyfriend, you were miserable. The morning we broke up you had been jubilant. The recesses of my mind have tried in vain to vanish all thoughts of those times, all those thoughts of you...but it's futile.

The way we had gotten together had been simple enough...but glorious at the same time.

Right before we hooked up, you had been talking to Garland. The two of you had had a colossal argument over what I suspect must have been me, and you had run into the house extremely distressed. It was then that I pulled you into my arms, rocking you and trying to calm your frazzled nerves. You had gripped onto me, burying your face in my chest, your body racked with sobs that shook your entire scrawny yet perfect frame. Back then, I still hadn't entirely accepted my feelings for you and had convinced myself I was only doing this for the sake of my revenge. I was at a loss as I stroked your silky hair, putting a single kiss on the top of your head, embracing you. To me, there was nothing worse than watching you cry. I would do anything to end it.

"T-Tala," you hiccupped as I covered your mouth with a single finger before replacing it with my lips. Your eyes widened and you froze, gripping the material of my shirt tigher as you moaned, your eyes sliding shut. We pulled back, simply staring into each other's eyes, my arms keeping you against me.

"Brooklyn..." I whispered back. "I..." I paused at a loss for words. I didn't know how to ask this...I was never good at this type of thing. But as always, you made things easier on me. You knew me far too well. You had been staying at my house for a while now and I had spent all this time putting off getting together with you and then breaking your heart. Little by little, day by day as my feelings grew, I had realized I no longer wanted to do that.

"Yes..." you had smiled. "I-I want to be your boyfriend...the answer is yes," you inhaled sharply as I smiled at you.

My face.

Will you ever forget my face?

I won't forget yours, especially not on that day.

That was the day I had _truly_ fallen for you. That was the day I began to realize that I loved you.

I still wanted revenge on Garland, but now for different reasons.

_Garland_.

He had caused you so much pain. From day one all he had done was play with you. There is no one in this world I truly despise save two exceptions; Boris...and Garland. When we had become a couple forward, I decided to find a different way to get back at Garland. I no longer wanted to involve you in any manner. I just wanted vengeance for the agony you had been put through.

Little did I know...his wicked ways weren't through...not just yet anyway.

When he had first begun to date Bryan, I had been suspicious, but tried to shrug it off as nothing. It _wasn't_ "nothing" though. It hadn't been enough for Garland to humiliate my team, to hospitalize me, to hurt you...but now he was using my best friend, and things would only go downhill from there. I suppose I should be less harsh on Garland...I think he had known that I had planned to use you, and wished to find out from Bryan through any means necessary. One of my best friends, one of the few people I truly trusted, told Garland everything.

Odds were it had been done in a moment of weakness when Bryan's mind was too hazy to process what was going on.

Odds were he was only looking out for your interests, only doing this because he loved you.

I never had believed in odds.

Now that Garland knew what I had planned to do, what I had almost done...there was no stopping him. However, I supposed I deserved it. That will never stop me from disliking Garland with every fiber of my being, though. The one thing that can be said to his credit is that when he had come to tell you, he hadn't looked happy about it, or proud of himself. He looked distressed...broken up slightly. I didn't like him coming around the house, especially now that you were mine. He was your best friend though...it would have been cruel of me to deny you the happiness of seeing him. My gut told me I should be keeping you away from him when he had already hurt you so deeply.

I should have followed my gut, but I didn't.

"Hey Garland!" you had chirped happily your face becoming worried when you saw he was upset. You were the only one I knew that could stay friends with someone even after they had broken up with you and hurt you.

"I...Brooklyn...listen...there's something you should know," Garland sighed heavily, your eyes becoming more and more concerned.

You hadn't known this, but I had been watching the whole time. I always watched and listened to your conversations. I know it was an invasion of your privacy, but it wasn't as though I didn't trust you. It was _him_ I didn't trust. "What is it?..." you asked, leading him to the couch.

"First...I think Tala should be here," Garland stated.

"I'll go get hi-" you began as Garland shook his head, pointing toward my hiding spot, your head whipping around to gaze at me.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

"See?...There's no need..." he stated as I growled lightly.

"Tala..." you said in slight shock, a bit of hurt fixed on your features. Not as nearly as much as there would be soon enough...but still...

"I...Brooklyn..." I sighed heavily. "I'm sorry..." I mumbled as you gave a small smile. "It's alright..." you smiled as Garland hissed slightly.

"No, it's not alright Brooklyn!" he growled, standing as I frowned. "Don't you see! He's been using you all along! Bryan told me so!" Garland cried, my body tensing considerably.

Bryan...

How could he?

"That's not true! Right Tala? Tell him..." you stated in an extremely confident manner. But that confidence would soon falter. "Tala?..." you frowned looking at me when you got no response. I glanced away in shame, not wanting to see your eyes widen. "T-Tala...please Tala...please...s-say it's not true," you whispered, reaching for my hand.

"I'm sorry," I spoke softly, shattering your heart of glass into a thousand pieces. Even if it was pieced together someday, there would always be a crack down the middle...a crack I had caused. That was a guilt I wasn't sure I could live with. Scratch that, it was guilt I knew I couldn't live with

"How...How could you?" you cried. "How could you use me like this? How could you string me along like this?" you whispered in question. I had never seen you this hurt before, not even when Garland had broken up with you, not even when you had argued with him.

"Brooklyn I...I...I..." I had started, reaching out only to have my hand slapped away as you glared at me with enraged teal eyes, glazed over by unshed tears. I wanted to explain...I tried to, but there was no explanation. Those had been my original intentions, and there was no excuse for that. Your body was overtaken by tremors as you left, running and not looking back the wind wrapping around your slim form. Part of me was glad when you ran out... I didn't want to have to see those crystal drops cascading downward like a waterfall, abusing your face.

That face.

I'll never forget that face.

An even larger part of me broke with every step you took away from me, however.

My perfect world had just been ripped out from beneath me...my perfect world was gone, a thing of the past.

"It's over Tala...you're through playing with his heart!" Garland had hissed as I glared daggers. I had never hated anyone as much as I hated Garland at that point in time.

"Get out," I whispered, watching him leave with a superior grin on his features. The door shut with a slam as I sunk down, bringing my legs up to my chest. I have no idea how long I sat there. Seconds turned into minutes which melded into hours and before long, streams of hot tears rolled down my cheeks. The first I had allowed to come in years. The hurt would numb eventually, but it would never entirely go away.

The part that hurt the most was that you were quicker to forgive Garland than me.

Then there was Bryan's betrayal...I hadn't yelled at him, and I didn't stop being his friend. He got his when Garland broke up with him. How ironic it was that Garland was angry at me for using you for my own gain, when he had done the same to someone else.

Once again, I was left to pick up the pieces of his mess and I comforted Bryan as best as I could. He had really loved Garland, and I had really loved you. Both Bryan and I grew more and more distant by the day and it wasn't before long that Ian deemed it time for us to go out into the land of the living, and do something. So we went to a park...not an amusement park, a plain, old, regular park, the one you had always gone to. Birds had been chirping, the sun had been shining, children had been happily playing, and Bryan and I despised every minute of it.

My heart stopped beating at what I found at that place, my walk slowing to a stop. Bryan too looked as though he were hurting immensely when he followed my line of vision. There you were, angelic as ever, with the arm of the devil, Garland's arm wrapped around you.

You were beautiful.

You had been laughing at something Garland had said, your eyes glimmering. To any casual observer, you would have seemed happy enough, but I knew better. I saw that tiny piece of sorrow in your eyes. I always had adored your laugh...it was a soft joyous sound that filled me to the brim with jubilation. As quickly as it had started, it stopped, and I was instantly disappointed. You glanced up, our gazes locking, as you froze. You stared at me sadly for a while before turning your head away, hiding your beautiful features and denying me your flawless face.

That face.

That face is engraved within the depths of my memory.

I will _never_ forget that face.

FIN

* * *

Tralalalala...what did you guys think?

I might do one in Brooklyn's p.o.v. annnnnd...after rereading this, I'm hoping I can do a sequel, because that was just DEPRESSING. X.x It seems that's all I write anymore...ahh well...

I figure fluff shall reenter my life someday XD


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